The medical and physical therapy fields have employed upper extremity supports including arm supports (e.g., slings) for years in order to stabilize an arm and provide rest to an arm and adjacent muscles and bones to treat an injury. In particular, slings are used to support and immobilize an arm. Although conventional slings may provide some immobilization and support, they often put undesirable strain on the shoulder and neck area of the user. In general, conventional slings have one narrow strap over the unaffected shoulder. This strap most often rests in the curve between the shoulder and neck. This placement and added downward force from the injured arm (often casted) irritates and impinges on tissues of that region of the neck. The discomfort of conventional strap designs often causes a level of discomfort that leads to lack of compliance. This lack of compliance is prevalent, even amongst patients that are required to wear an arm support for proper healing.
The arm support or upper extremity sling of the present invention eliminates shoulder and neck impingement syndromes caused by the currently used and widely prescribed conventional arm slings.